


Return of the Dragons

by Luciole77



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Ancient Evil, Dragon King, Dragon Queen - Freeform, Dragon society, Dragons, Elemental Magic, F/M, Falling In Love, Gajeel cusses a lot, Leviathans, M/M, Mated pairs, Other, angry dragon slayers, dragon hierarchy, human to dragon morphing, new dragons, protection of humans, save the world, where am i going with this, world ruled by dragons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-04-23 17:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 18,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14337696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luciole77/pseuds/Luciole77
Summary: .....Natsu coughed a bit, “I need fire.  I can’t eat my own and I need strength to keep her asleep.  We need help.  Lucy,” By this time Lucy was on her feet and was standing a few feet away, she nodded to let him know she could hear him, “Go back to Erza and contact the guild.  We need the other dragon slayers and their mates and gramps.  No one else.  It will be too dangerous.  Just them and us.  Tell gramps I’ve found a…”  He hesitated, looking back to the small girl, and almost smiled, “tell him I’ve found a dragon.”.....





	1. Chapter 1

Smoke rose slowly from a largish outpost in the hot, humid jungle.  The noon sun reached the ground here where the trees had been cleared to make way for the huts and clay brick buildings, now many of those buildings were crumbled and not a few of the huts were burned and blackened.  It was eerily quiet, no sounds of nature to fill the silence, only the breeze wafting quietly now that the battle had concluded. Several men lay unconscious in the middle of the clearing watched over by a red haired woman who gave off the aura of someone who was having a very bad day.

“Someone go get Natsu,” Erza growled, “ and when you find him kick him from me.”  She kicked one of the unconscious men. Gray dusted himself off, grabbed Lucy and together they headed off in the direction they had last seen the Dragon Slayer running.  “She’s gonna kill him this time…” Lucy whispered as they walked away.

 

The mission had not been difficult, just rounding up some leftovers from a drug cartel. Erza and Lucy could have handled it on their own, but it had been a while since the team had last been together so they took the mission together.  It had taken a week to walk to the encampment once they reached the edge of the rainforest, it had been fairly easy going until Natsu had began to act strangely. He insisted he had been smelling another dragon slayer nearby and had gone off the trail a few times when he heard something.  Despite his superior senses nothing was found though. They had arrived at the encampment that morning and by noon it was all over and Natsu was off once more, making Erza’s eye twitch every time she thought about it.

 

Natsu had set several huts on fire, thrown more than one of the men across the clearing and looked as though he would finish the job before any of the others could even get started.  Then he suddenly whipped around to the north and took off yelling at them to “finish up...I think I smell them! I’ll be back soon!” That had been over a hour ago and he had still not returned.  Erza tried to cool her temper as she tied up the unconscious men and pulled out her communication lacrima, she contacted the local authorities and with nothing better to do she found a spot in the shade to sit and wait.

 

________

 

Loud shouts and growls could be heard only a few hundred feet up the way as Gray and Lucy crept closer.  Natsu’s voice could be heard, but they could not make out what the words were as something roared and growled, effectively drowning out the words.  Finally they peeked over the leaves to see Natsu held 50 or so feet off the ground by swirling water, he was cursing for all his might and every time he used his fire to evaporate the water more rushed at him to subdue his flames.  Gray’s eyes tracked and located the source of the water, a small girl, maybe a teen, and she was angry. She was also where the roars and growling was coming from, so Natsu had been right, she seemed to be another dragon slayer. After a short bit of planing with Lucy they went to work.  

 

Gray tried to stay hidden for as long as possible to give them the upper hand, he used his ice magic to freeze the water swirling around Natsu.  A second later Lucy’s whip snapped out to shatter the ice freeing the fire mage and allowing him to drop to the ground, still cussing. The smaller girl seemed confused by this and she looked around, sniffing the air trying to find the source of the ice.  She zeroed in on Gray quickly and with a low growl she sprang his way. She never made it however, and for a few moments Gray was uncertain what had happened. He was on his back on the ground, his ears ringing, his body numb and when he finally was able to look around he saw Lucy in much the same condition.  He shook his head and slowly sat up, trying to make sense of what had happened. “Gray, help me.” That was Natsu’s voice, where was Natsu? He shook his head again and the fuzziness went away for him to see Natsu kneeling over the small girl, his hand over her heart and his breathing quick, he looked exhausted.  Gray shot up and was by his side in seconds, “What do I need to do? What happened?” He looked the fire mage over trying to find injuries, but he couldn’t see anything that would make him sound so worn and tired.

 

Natsu coughed a bit, “I need fire.  I can’t eat my own and I need strength to keep her asleep.  We need help. Lucy,” By this time Lucy was on her feet and was standing a few feet away, she nodded to let him know she could hear him, “Go back to Erza and contact the guild.  We need the other dragon slayers and their mates and gramps. No one else. It will be too dangerous. Just them and us. Tell gramps I’ve found a…” He hesitated, looking back to the small girl, and almost smiled, “tell him I’ve found a dragon.”

 

Both Lucy and Gray jerked at his words, “What?” Gray almost yelled as he continued to pile brush for the fire.  Lucy shook her head, “Natsu, there are no dragons...I know you want…” Natsu cut her off, “Go get the others, please, and I promise it will all make sense.  Trust me, guys...just trust me and hurry.” Lucy’s eyes narrowed, she didn’t know if Natsu meant a literal dragon or just another dragon slayer, but his sense of urgency could not be denied.  The strain on him to keep the girl asleep was obviously hard and she didn’t even know how he was doing it, some kind of dragon slayer magic she assumed, she nodded seriously and sprinted back the way they had come.

 

Gray nursed the fire and added more brush and then larger pieces of wood he found lying about from what had obviously been a hard battle before he and Lucy had ever arrived.  “So, what the hell is going on here, Natsu?” He poked the fire and it flared up, Natsu watched the flames looking hungrier than he’d ever seen him. “Natsu! It’ll be ready soon...what is going on?”  The fire mage sighed and tried to relax his shoulders. “She smells like a real dragon, Gray. Not a dragon slayer, a real dragon! It’s water, but it’s still there, that smell I would know anywhere. She speaks the language only someone who was raised by a dragon would know and my chest...it’s like my heart burns near her.”  He touched his chest with his free hand for a moment, “Just like when Igneel was alive. It’s a lot...to...it’s just a lot.”

 

“Here, the fire is ready.  How do you want it...I don’t exactly have a place setting for you here.”  Gray laughed, he grabbed a burning branch and handed it to the fire user, who grabbed with his free hand and started wolfing down the fire as fast as he could.  They continued like this for a while, Gray handing him branches full of fire and Natsu eating it like he had never eaten before in his life. Finally, he looked less worn and held out a hand to show he was good.  Gray tossed the branch back in the fire and went to find more should it be needed. “Now, what the hell happened earlier?” He asked asked as he sat down close to the fire mage and leaning back on a large rock, “I have no idea how I ended up on my ass and I would kinda like to know...so it doesn’t happen again.”  He placed his hands behind his head casually and waited. He usually was not this calm around Natsu, but he wasn’t a complete jerk. Whatever this was, this girl, dragon, slayer, whatever she was...it had Natsu shaken. Whatever he had used to knock her out was powerful and Gray knew he did not want it directed at him.  

 

Natsu sighed, running his free hand over his face.  “That was a true dragon roar and used at close range it can kill a human.  I took a big risk, but she would have killed you and Lucy if I hadn’t done something.  All dragon slayers can do it, but we never use it...it is something that is last resort.  Do you remember it?” Gray nodded negatively. “I figured as much, you need to get checked out as soon as we get back.  Do your ears still ring? Or is your vision blurry?” He looked seriously at the ice mage, telling him silently to tell the truth and not act tough.  “No, not now,” Gray replied, “I couldn’t hear at first, or really see, but after a few moments it got better. I was pretty dizzy, but now I feel fine.”  Natsu nodded, he still seemed worried though. It was not a side the ice mage was used to seeing, “Natsu, you did what you had to do. Lucy and I will be ok.  Don’t worry.”

 

Natsu smiled down at the ground, “I’m not worried about Lucy…” He mumbled, cheeks pinking a bit.  Gray almost had to laugh, the dragon slayer was too cute sometimes without even knowing it. Especially since they had started seeing each other a few months earlier.  Natsu had not marked him yet though, there seemed to be something holding him back, and Gray had not pushed. He knew that Natsu had some issues, he was not truly human and that and his strength had kept him alone most of his years since joining Fairy Tail.  Gray had never allowed it with him though, always challenging him, pushing him and never letting him lock himself away. Gray had realized many years ago that he could spend his life with a demon without even thinking twice. He was a devil slayer after all, who better to spend his life with a demon.  

 

It had taken some convincing and Lucy had helped quite a bit.  Natsu loved her like a sister and often went to her with his worries, so with her prodding he and Gray had began dating.  He was still hesitant to lose himself though, anytime he felt himself slipping into pleasure he jerked back and away from it...afraid to loose control and possibly hurt Gray or anyone else.  Gray sighed and shook his head, “I’m fine Natsu. I’m strong enough to handle quite a bit. Devil slayer? Remember?” He tried to instill a small amount of humor in his voice, trying to draw a smile from the other, but he saw that was not going to happen.  Natsu was torn between worrying about him and wondering about this girl, and he was in no mood for humor. He reached down and touched the girls white hair, it was waist long and as the sun glinted off it you could see shades of blue, like the sea, in it. “What if she is the link to finding Igneel, Gray?  What if he’s not really gone forever?” He almost whispered, Gray could see the longing in his eyes. Natsu would give anything to see his father again, everyone knew that, the ice mage just hoped that whatever this girl was, it would not harm his fire mage.    


	2. Chapter 2

Hours later Gray heard the voices of the other mages as they approached.  He stood and walked to the edge of the clearing to meet them and was surprised to see so many mages walking behind Makarov.  Lucy and Erza followed right behind the tiny man, followed closely by Laxus, Freed, Gajeel, Levy, Sting, Rogue and finally at the very end, Cobra and Wendy, who hung back a bit in nervousness it seemed.

 

The second the slayers took a deep breath they all seemed to gasp and step forward, Makarov stopped them immediately with a stern look.  “Gajeel, go to Natsu and see what he needs. The rest of you stay here at the edge of the forest. Do not move unless you are told to by me.”  With that he stepped forward following the Iron Dragon slayer and the approached Natsu, who looked like he could drop at any second. Gajeel had never seen the younger man look so worn, used to his endless energy and spirit.  “What do you need, Fire-boy?” Natsu seemed to take a moment to look up and when he saw the other slayer his smile was small, but sincere. “I need to rest, can you take over? She must stay asleep. Something is wrong, gramps...she smells like a real dragon, but it’s like she’s pure evil.”  Gajeel sat next to the girl and took a moment to focus before placing his hand over Natsu's...after a few second Natsu removed his hand and fell back onto Gray in exhaustion.

 

“Damn, how did you keep her asleep for so long?  She’s fighting it so hard.” Gajeel looked up at the pink haired mage who was all but asleep, “Damn, pinkie, don’t faint now...we need you for a few more minutes.  Gray...he needs a bit of fire.”

 

After a bit of fire to rouse him, the pinkette looked over at the others.  “What the fuck? I said only the mated slayers? Why is Erik here...and Wendy?”  

 

“I brought them, I thought it wise.  It seems I was right, Erik will be helpful in finding out what is going on inside this girls mind and Wendy will be able to heal you.” The tiny Master said, he beckoned the two mages over and gave them their tasks.  Wendy immediately hugging Natsu and then urging him to lay back so she could look over him. He did as he was told, honestly too tired to resist. With his head pillowed on Gray’s lap he looked up at the sky, the sun was almost gone, stars beginning to peek out.  He heard gramps give orders to the others, but didn’t pay any attention to it. He felt his eyes closing and fought it, but he heard Wendy urging him to sleep and Gray stroked his hair and he gave up, his eyes closing and breath evening out.

 

“He’s fine, Master.  Just very tired, I doubt he will wake before morning.” The littlest slayer reported.  Makarov hummed and she moved off to help the others as they began setting up a camp for the night.  Levy took up a position near Gajeel and Erik and used her magic to produce either metal or poisons for them as needed during the night.  Laxus and Freed patrolled the edge of the camp, Laxus glancing every few minutes to the small girl in confusion. Freed felt his confusion strongly, but he knew it might be hours before the hulk spoke, he would need time to think and consider.  Everyone else settled in for as much sleep as they could get, they would take turns during the night keeping watch as the other mages worked to unravel the puzzled held in the small girl.

 

Hours passed before Erik sighed in weariness and removed his hands from the little girl, Levy passed him a cup filled with an ominous green liquid that he downed thankfully before turning to Makarov with a worried look.  “You look disturbed.” The small man said, earning a grin from the other three mages sitting close. “You are very observant, Makarov. I am, as stated, disturbed.” He drawled back, his voice tired but still sounding somewhat like the snaked he was named for.  He looked up at the sky for a few moments, quiet. “I don’t understand.” He finally said, something that obviously did not sit well with him. “She is so young, so tiny...and yet so very ancient. Her body is only, at the most, 18 years old. Her mind is ancient, she has the soul of a dragon, but it’s not really a good thing.  She’s a leviathan.” Gajeel nearly choked on the metal he had been downing as Levy gasped, “Oh, Mavis…” she whispered. Erik nodded and continued, “A wolf in sheep’s clothing, or in this case a monstrous sea demon dragon in a tiny little girls body. Just waiting for something…” He looked a Makarov seriously, “I can’t find out any more, my magic is useless from here on.  You will need the help of the seith for this one, you need one who reads the soul completely.”

 

Levy handed him another cup of the vile green liquid and he sipped it, obviously troubled as he waited for a response from the Headmaster.  It was Gajeel who spoke first though, “I can feel it though, the dragon. I haven’t felt it in so long, it’s like home...like Metallicana.” Levy hugged him as his sense of loss overwhelmed her, her face buried in his muscled arm.  Erik shook his head, “No. You cannot let her wake. No, Gajeel...that is not Metallicana.” He turned to Makarov, “ We need someone else. Sting and Rogue.” Makarov motioned to Gray who still sat with Natsu near the fire and the ice mage moved to get the two men.  Gajeel growled lowly, staring at the Poison Dragon slayer, “No, Gajeel. You have to move away.” Erik did not even look at him, but at Makarov. “She is trying to get him to let her wake up, and if she wakes, we will all die. She is strong. I have no idea how Natsu managed to knock her out.”

 

“A true dragon roar.” Gray replied as he sat back down, pillowing Natsu’s head on his lap once more, “He said it was dangerous, but he had no choice.”  Rogue and Sting took up residence beside the small girl and replaced Gajeel and Levy, the later having to pull her mate away from the small girl. “Take him to the other side of the camp, Levy.  Get him calm, it’s hard on him since he was with Metallicana the longest.” Makarov said to the tiny script mage, she nodded and continued to pull the large man away. “Should we stay here or try to get back to somewhere more civilized?”  He asked the Poison Dragon slayer after Gajeel was safely away. Erik arched his eyebrows, “I didn’t have a dragon, why are you asking me? All I’ve learned is from the others and from books…”

 

Makarov shook his head in understanding, “Yes, that is precisely why I am asking you.  You and Laxus will be the most level headed about this. You can feel the dragon, but you don’t have the pull the others do.  It will cloud their judgement, they long for their lost dragons. Natsu would give his life just to see Igneel once again, and I’m sure Gajeel would do the same to be reunited with Metallicana.  They cannot make this decision.” Erik nodded and looked to the two slayers currently watching over the tiny girl, they too had dragons to miss, not as much as the first generation slayers, but possibly enough to cloud their judgement.  “Staying away from people would be better, but it’s more dangerous being this close to the water with a leviathan. We would be better in a desert.” Makarov nodded, “I’ll see what I can do...now go get some sleep”


	3. Chapter 3

It took more time than Makarov had wanted, but finally after two days they had magically moved their little camp to an empty part of the desert west of Magnolia.  Everyone was exhausted from the move and the effort it took to support the dragon slayers as they kept the tiny girl unconscious. Bickslow had arrived as they were putting the finishing touches on their little home away from home and had at once sent all of the slayers who were not with the girl to sleep while he stepped in and finished their work for them.  Makarov still keep his vigil over the girl and the slayers who attended her and he briefed the seith mage when he joined him. Bickslow took it all in with unusual calm, “A leviathan. It’s been a long time since one has even been mentioned...let alone seen. I need to talk to Erik first.” He strode away toward the poison slayer’s tent as Makarov, Laxus and Freed watched him.  

 

“He’s worried.” Freed stated, his hand pressing to Laxus’s back.  Makarov nodded, then looked to his grandson. “Laxus, do you need a break?”  The huge man was silent for a minute before looking up, “No, but I’m hungry.  It will be best if we stay with her when Bix does his thing. But I need to eat.”  Makarov nodded and stood to get Levy, the tiny script mage had been producing meal after meal for the slayers and he knew she was exhausted, he hoped this would be the last time she would be needed and could get the rest she deserved.  Makarov was proud of his children, they were truly amazing and wonderful. He just hoped that when this was all over they would all be around for him to tell everyone about it. Fairy Tail was home to every dragon slayer known now, they had all drifted in over the years draw to the other slayers.  It was a huge honor for the guild, but also a huge burden since they were so destructive at times. Makarov sighed, what would happen if a leviathan was awakened and allowed to roam freely again? Could all the dragon slayers together defeat such a foe? Just seeing them struggle to keep it contained in a magically induced sleep was worrying, it drained their magic.  Drained the strongest of the strongest and while it slept it was doing it, what would happen if it were to awaken? He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts, he needed a clear head for this.

 

Bickslow returned to the side of his team members as Laxus finished his latest meal of lightning, he looked better than before.  He actually looked the best of all the slayers at this point, and he found that odd. “Why do you two look so much better than everyone else?”  Laxus huffed a laugh. “Gramps must have known it would be better for us to be here when you did this...he’s been keeping me away for the most part, waiting for you to get here.  I’ve only been with the girl for around three hours.” The seith mage nodded, that was good to hear. “Good, ol’ gramps is a smart one. He knew I needed you fresh, well, let’s get to it.”  He kneeled next to the girl and took off his visor, eyes still closed. “You know what’s going to happen. I may need to get a bit more aggressive, so it may feel intense. If you need me to stop you know what to say.”  Both Freed and Laxus nodded and Bickslow opened his eyes and reached down to touch the girl laid out before him.

 

~~~~~~

Water.  Roiling, boiling water.  Waves and lightning, wind and hail.  Fear, Bickslow could feel fear. He was falling, from high up, tumbling down and crashing into rocks, the rain icy on him and then he hit waves.  He was tossed like a broken doll in what seemed like an endless eternity and then blackness. No waves, just dark and the faintest hint of sinking.  No light he could see. Then a voice, words he didn’t understand, a spell. He could feel it seeping inside him and he couldn’t fight it. His eyes opened and he saw again.  He was laying on a rock, in a dark, wet cave. His body felt different and he looked down...he wasn’t human. He looked over the body of a dark, slick dragon with fins instead of legs, it’s tail a long paddle.  The reflection in the water showed him a dragon’s head, but more streamline with glowing red eyes. A name, yes, a name older than time. The origin of evil from the depths of the water, Leviathan. Not just a sea dragon, or a sea demon...the original evil.  The one all others after we named by. Oh, gods.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Bickslow jerked back, breaking the connection to the girls soul, panting for air.  He fell back to rest on the ground, felt hands at his face placing his visor back on for him.  Freed he realized. Smaller hands roamed over him as he tried to catch his breath, the little slayer checking him to be sure he was unharmed.  He wondered if she had been allowed to touch the girl, no, the demon laying here. No, the master would not have risked it, she was too young. Makarov would not put such a young one in harm's way, but he was sure the little slayer could feel the pull of the demon, feel the same trick that had nearly broken the other slayers.  The pull of their dragons, he knew she would long for it as well. He slowly sat up and the little one supported his back, seeming to know he needed it. He reached a hand back and patted her head, “Thanks, little one.” He heard her giggle, “Of course, uncle Bixy.” She kept her hands pressed to his back feeding him the energy he had lost through the exchange with the demon.  How was he going to make the slayers believe him? This tiny girl was more dangerous than anything else on Earthland, she had to be destroyed, and when he said that they would all want him dead because even unconscious she had worked the spell that had them believing she was their long lost dragon. 

 

The others looked at him expectantly and on edge.  He noticed all the others were gathered around as well, waiting to hear what he had learned.  He couldn’t tell them, not yet. He needed to think on this, there had to be more. This girl was not ancient, she was young.  How did she become the bearer of this evil, when did it happen? He needed to meditate, see if there was anything he missed, the entire thing had been so strong, so much information and the shock was overwhelming.  He had never felt such evil before, it was quite a shock for him actually. He shook his head, “I need time. I don’t know what I’ve just seen and I need to get it right. I need to look again after I meditate.” He sighed as they all looked crestfallen, they were not used to having to wait for answers from him when he read someone’s soul, but this, this wasn’t just a soul.  It was souls, that was it he realized, it wasn’t just one soul. Yes, he had to take his time with this or he would really mess up. “I do know how to keep her under though, that way no one will need to be constantly draining their magic. I will need some things, Wendy, Lucy, can you help with that?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments and kudos. This is a bit of departure from the smut I usually write. I've been tossing ideas like this around for a long time. And beginning in this chapter the world will be more of an AU as it becomes more of the world it will need to be for this story line. Most characters will still stay on point with the way you know them, not a ton of OOC. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy.

The camp was silent, save for the small noises of the fire burning steadily.   The stars glittering in the late night sky were reflected in Lucy’s eyes and she sat with the guild master to keep watch.  “Master, please get some sleep.” Her voice was soft as it floated over the space between them. Makarov smiled,  _ she really is a golden soul.  Always thinking of others,  _ he thought.  He knew she was right, it has been days since he had slept and his magic was depleted. He nodded slightly and heard her sigh in relief.  Bickslow was still meditating, two days later. Wendy took him food and water, which was always gone when she went to retrieve the bowls, but he never seemed to break his trance.  Laxus had assured everyone that he would be ok, that this was something the seith mage did when he was searching deeply for answers, but it didn’t comfort everyone. Lucy had been agitated, as had Erik; both because they could feel the stress from Bickslow’s tent.  Erik said he couldn’t hear any thoughts, Bickslow had blocked him somehow, but he could hear strange noises. Lucy couldn’t seem to understand why she was so uncomfortable, only saying it felt like sorrow. 

 

The sun was now only a few hours from rising and at dawn Grey and Gajeel would take over the watch of the magical box that held the girl in a magically induced coma.  It had been surprisingly difficult to erect and not only required rune, celestial, seith and sky magic, but also something that had seemed to be nothing but witchcraft; ingredients boiled together and the ground coated with them.  No one had any idea how Bickslow even knew that kind of magic, much less how he knew to use it right then, least of a Bickslow. Which had led to a 2 day meditation. Bickslow had often found he was the very last person who needed to, or was actually qualified to, deal with the strange knowledge that popped into his brain at the most unknown times.  However, given what he had seen when looking into that things soul, he decided to just roll with it and not talk about it just yet. He knew what to do, he didn’t know how he knew, but he did and he knew he needed to really focus. Focusing was another thing he was fairly unqualified to do, but he could do it if he tried and he was seriously trying right now.  What he had seen had scared him so badly it had knocked him breathless. His form of magic was old and so he was expected to study old things as a young boy and nothing had ever frightened him as much as the legends of the Leviathans.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

_ Soul Seer, what are you looking for? _  Bickslow looked around him, it felt like he had wandering for days beside the ocean, looking out over the waves just waiting for something.  

 

_ Who are you?  Where are you? _

 

_ I am the Sea.  The Queen of the Sea.  Do you believe my words? _  The voice was in his head, or maybe all around him, he couldn’t tell.

 

_ What if you are Leviathan? _  He asked, still trying to see something that he could  make sense of. Nothing was there but the ocean, the waves and the sandy beach he stood on.  A soft laugh sounded through the air. _  I am not a demon.  You know this. You felt my soul the first time you touched the girl and saw the demon, did you not? _

 

Bickslow sat down, that felt right.   _ Yes, but I still don’t know what you are.  I don’t understand why there are three souls in the tiny body or what anyone can do about it _ .  He only now realized he was not actually talking, this entire conversation was happening in his head.  He tried to shake his head.  _ Don’t fight it, Seer.  You are chosen as are so many others who claim the name Fairy.  Are you ready to fulfill your destiny or are you going to run? _

 

He frowned, whoever, whatever this was could see right through him.  He was terrified.  _ You call me a Seer, doing a pretty good job of it yourself. _  He traced patterns in the said idly.  The Sea Queen seemed to still be waiting for his answer.  He thought about Fairy Tail, his family and he knew he would never leave them.  A Leviathan was a bigger problem than just leaving his family though, it could mean the devastation of Earth Land.  He remembered the legends, how the demons rose from the deep and killed everything they came in contact with. They only wanted death; they killed people, animals, plants, everything they could.  They were death. Unstoppable until the dragons had decided to intervene, to save the world they lived on, to save even the humans who sometimes tried to kill them. The legends told of the battle said almost all the dragons were killed and the Leviathan were entombed deep in the ground under the sea.  The few dragons left had taught their magic to a few and then, suddenly, they were gone one day. He knew from Natsu and Gajeel how heartbreaking that had been for them, it was branded into them. Laxus even felt it, even if he had ever had a dragon, even though his slayer magic was implanted in him...it still seemed to be almost a draconic racial memory attached to the magic itself.  Those who carried dragon slayer magic carried that pain in their souls.

 

_ How would I even go about fighting this thing? _  He finally responded.  He felt like she smiled at him, almost like a teacher to a student who only needed a small push to learn a lesson.

 

_ As a dragon, of course. _

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_


	5. Chapter 5

Makarov’s brow creased, the tiny man looking confused more than angry for the time being.  Bickslow had gone through his retelling of his meeting with the Sea Queen twice, he was now completely ready to sleep.  Makarov finally sighed, “This is unexpected…” he began, only be interrupted by the seith mages mumbled “no shit”. The tiny master ignored him, “I need to speak with Natsu and Gajeel and you need rest.  I’ll have someone bring you food before you sleep.” He moved to the flap of the tent, but looked back just before he went out. “Not a word to anyone else...it will be hard enough to keep Natsu calm.” Bickslow huffed a laugh and lay back.  Keep Natsu calm, the entire thought was an impossibility. The fire mage and calmness seem incompatible in so many ways.

 

Makarov gathered the two dragon slayers and they walked far enough away so as to not be heard by the other slayers.  They sat down on some boulders, Natusu already fidgeting. Makarov tried to suppress his sigh unsuccessfully and Gajeel grabbed the hyper pinkette and pulled him down to sit still, “Be still you little ball of energy.  Gramps must have something important to say if he dragged us all this way.” He growled. Natsu shot him a look, but stilled and looked back to the small man who looked more disturbed than he had ever seen him.

 

“I want to get through this once before you start asking questions and I may not have the answers even then...so keep quiet and just listen.  Natsu, you are the son of Igneel and that is why I need your help, you are the Fire Dragon King now. Gajeel, you spent more time with your dragon than anyone else and that is going to be important.  The two of you, along with Sting and Rogue, make up the known knowledge of draconic history.” He paused to let that sink in, Natsu had gone perfectly still as soon as Igneel’s name left his tiny master’s mouth.  The both waited attentively for him to continue. “Bickslow has spent days meditating and depleting his magic to get this information, and while I know there will be more to come once he has recovered, I want to let you know what he saw and see if any of it is familiar to you.  He described seeing three souls in the girl when he looked the first time, one human, one dragon and one Leviathan.”

 

At the name Leviathan both slayers let out growls, Makarov could see the hair stand up on their arms as their eyes narrowed in hate.  “Leviathan…” Gajeel nearly roared, surprisingly it was Natsu to put a hand to his mouth to quiet him. “Shush...we don’t want anyone else to know.  Gramps did he say it was a leviathan or the Leviathan?” Natsu’s eyes were focused, his body tensed and ready to attack. Gajeel too was tense, fear and anger thrumming through him, all slayers knew of the demon leviathans, how they brought death.  Makarov motioned for them to sit back down before he continued, “It is the original demon, apparently. That tiny girl is, as you know, a water dragon slayer. How she got here or where she was before is a bit of a mystery at the moment. The more important thing is that something happened and somehow she found herself possessed by the Leviathan.  With a body and access to water, the demon can free the other demons and we will be in serious trouble.”

 

Gajeel and Natsu took a few minutes to think this through, Gajeel spoke first. “You said a dragon’s soul.”  Makarov nodded and confirmed what he said, “Bickslow spoke with the dragon. She called herself the Sea Queen, that mean anything to either of you?”  At the choking sound from the fire dragon slayer, Gajeel thumped him on the back, “Get a grip, flame brain. You gotta breathe...cause I am not answering this one for you except to say that yes I know who that is.”  Makarov waited as Natsu finally slowed his breathing, swallowing nervously. He paced the ground for a few moments, glancing back at Gajeel for some sort of help, but none was to be found. Finally, he sat back down looking decidedly uncomfortable, “Her name is Uriel and she was Igneel’s mate.”  He took a deep breath, like he was trying to control himself. “And I do not understand my reaction to her name. I never knew her at all, he only told me about her, how she disappeared during the deal with the leviathan. I should not be feeling like this.”

 

Makarov cocked an eyebrow, “Like what?”  He asked, trying to figure out what was making the normally boisterous fire slayer extremely uncomfortable.  He was met with stubborn silence as Natse continued to try and calm himself. Gajeel laughed a bit as Makarov glanced to him for an answer, “I said I wasn’t gonna say nothin’, but gramps is worried, flames.  He is...a bit aroused.” Gajeel said as nicely as he could before another giggle left him. “It’s not funny!!” came the reply, remarkably not accompanied by fire. Natsu sat on the ground his head leaned back against the rocks trying to get his entire being under control.  “What is going on?” He almost whimpered in a frustrated whine. Makarov cleared his throat, sending Gajeel a look that stopped the giggling immediately. “That might make the next bit of this make sense. It would seem that somehow, you carry Igneel’s soul inside you.” He motioned to Gajeel also, “And you have Metalicana’s soul in you.”

 

There was a full five minutes of shocked silence from the iron slayer, eyes wide, mouth hanging open in shock.  “What. the. Actual. Fuck. are you even saying?” He growled, angry. “Do not fuck with me old man...I will kill you.  Never, ever fuck with me over that.” He was pacing, his heart pounding with something between hope and anger and he didn’t know which emotion to go with.  Natsu was still trying to get himself back under control and not doing a good job of it and had not said anything or moved except to fall over and moan a bit,  Gajeel was pretty sure the little slayer was crying. “I am not messing with you, Gajeel, calm down. This is why I wanted you away from everyone...although, I honestly did not expect Natsu to….eh….well, anyway.  Bickslow said once he is rested he will talk with her again and she is going to teach him how to release the dragons.” He tried to sound as soothing as he could, “I would not lie about this, you know that.”

 

Gajeel hit his knees, vision somehow blurry and his face wet.  He touched the wetness, he was crying. He never cried, but just the hope of seeing his dragon again was apparently enough to send him into a crying jag worthy of any woman he’d ever met.  Makarov gently put a hand on his shoulder, “I know it is hard, but take it easy. I need you and Natsu to be stable, because not only are you carrying your dragons souls, but there are others in Fairy Tail who have been chosen to carry other dragon souls.  It would seem that it is time for the dragons to return to Earth Land.” Gajeel could not even process those words, he could not get past the fact that he  _ might _ get to see his dragon again.  Hear the rumbling voice, feel those hard scales.  It was impossible to pay attention to any other thought right now.  The biggest loss of his life, and he could possibly get it back. He rolled onto his back, trying to control himself, trying to get back to where he could at least stand.  Natsu on the other hand was passed out cold, the news and the apparent reaction of the soul he didn’t even know he held inside him far too much for him to handle. Makarov shook his head, he suddenly wished they had not walked so far...how was he going to get them back to the camp?

 

After a while, Gajeel sat back up.  “Are you alright?” Makarov asked him as he handed him a piece of cloth which he used to wipe his face before running his fingers through his hair to get the leaves out of it.  “Yeah, I think I’m good. Just...that, that was a lot.” He coughed a bit trying to not be uncomfortable, and got to his feet. He spotted Natsu, still out laying right where he had been before, “He gonna be ok though?”  Makarov rolled his eyes, “I was hoping you could tell me, I do not have dragon instincts.” Gajeel sniffed for a second, “Yeah, he’s good...just sleeping now. I think he got a double dose of all the feel goods.” He giggled a bit before Makarov silence him with a glare. “Not a word, now pick him up and let’s get going.  I have a feeling this is only the beginning of all this.”


	6. Chapter 6

The sight of Gajeel carrying an unconscious Natsu back into camp had everyone concerned and Gray hurrying over to take his boyfriend from the iron slayers arms.  “What happened?” He looked to Makarov for an answer when none was given by the other man. Makarov motioned for them to all gather in the center of camp as he answered, “He was a bit overwhelmed by our talk.  He will be fine when he wakes. Is Bickslow awake yet?” He asked looking around trying to find the tall mage. 

 

“I’m up, gramps.  I guess we’re having that little talk now, eh?” Bickslow said walking over from near the magic box that held the unconcious girl.  Laxus and Freed following him closely, his team mates had been protective of him since he had woken, easily feeling his unease and nervousness.  Once all the mages gathered and were settled Makarov cleared his throat, “Now, I’m not going to draw this out...so no interuptions. We don’t have all the answers yet, but Bickslow will be working on that once he feels he is rested enough.”  The seith mage nodded quietly at this as the older man continued, “I know there will be many questions, but for now, just try to listen and then we will go from there.” As Makarov told the other mages what he had discussed with Gajeel and Natsu earlier no one interrupted, but plenty of gasps and murmured exclamations were heard.  Finally after he finished and they had all had their time to ask questions and gotten what little answers they could it was time for the evening meal. Everyone was quiet as they ate and even had little to say as they either went to bed or started their turn at the watch.

 

Bickslow was reclining in his tent, his eyes already drooping when Laxus and Freed entered.  His eyes opened a bit in recognition that they had entered and then began drooping again before he felt a hand on his shoulder.  He opened his eyes to see Laxus sitting next to him, Freed was settled on his own bedroll. He quirked an eyebrow at the lightning slayer waiting for him to break his silence.  Laxus was not one for being touchy, but Bickslow had been his friend for longer than anyone and he knew that the stoic man often needed reassurance. “Is it true? Will there be dragons again?” He finally asked, he seemed slightly uncomfortable.  Bickslow took his hand in his, playing with his fingers, something that had calmed the mage ever since they we young. “That’s what she said. I need to talk with her more, but I’m just too tired right now. The box holding the girl’s body is stable so I have some time.  Why?”

 

Laxus cut his eyes to Freed, his mouth in a frown. “What about mated slayers?  What will happen?” Bickslow shrugged, “I don’t know. I don’t even know the names of all who are carrying dragon souls yet, but I can’t see a mated pair being split.  It’s even stronger for dragons, so I just can’t see it happening. Either you both carry a soul, or neither of you do is what I would guess, but I don’t know. It’s no use worrying over it until I get all the answers anyway.  Right, Freed?” The lightning slayer looked immediately to his mate and Freed nodded slowly, “Right. Let’s rest now and let Bickslow regain his strength. I cannot ever see us being separated...so we won’t think on it tonight.”  Laxus nodded and climbed into his own bedroll. As Bickslow turned to get comfortable again, he grinned when he noticed the two held hands as they drifted off. He hoped he was right, to tear apart a mated pair of dragons or dragon slayers meant death, he just couldn’t believe it would happen.

 

Morning rolled around with all of the shuffling that accompanied any mission away from one’s home or the guild.  Goaning yawns as mages woke, muffled curses as they tried to find something in their packs and the almost obligatory fight over the first cup of coffee.  Bickslow was dead to it all. Freed and Laxus had crept silently out and Freed had set up a rune barrier that would keep out all sounds and allow only those who needed to tend to the seith mage to enter.  Sting and Rogue were just now going to bed, having had the last watch and Freed set up a sound barrier for them as well so their sleep would be undisturbed. All in all the mages had fallen easily into the waiting pattern that accompanied missions on occasion, even if this one had far more people wandering around and taking up space.  Lucy and Levy sat near the magic box and kept watch over the sleeping girl who held all the secrets of this mission while Erik and Erza kept watch and walked patrol from time to time. Makarov sat in deep deep discussion with Gajeel, Natsu and Loke, who had been called from the spirit world to aid as he could. 

 

Bickslow finally appeared around the middle of the afternoon, dressed in nothing but boxers.  He stretched and scratched his head and stumbled toward the fire for food. “Bix, clothes.” A sweet voice reminded him, he looked down and retrieved pants and then returned for his hunt for food with Lucy laughing at him softly.  Levy looked over at her, “You seem awfully familiar with the fact that Bickslow runs around in his boxers without thought.” Lucy laughed, “Dangers of being the adopted sister of a dragon slayer. I spend a lot of time with the Raijinshu, be glad he had the boxers.”  Levy giggled a bit, “I have no idea how Evergreen puts up with them.” She said, then frowned, “Lucy, what if all our teams get split up by this? Have you thought of that? Jet and Droy are my family, but I’m mated to Gajeel and he does hold his dragons soul. I’ve been worried about that, but trying to push it into the back of my mind.  How will it all work? A world with dragons...all I’ve read on it is so vague. It’s either the dragons hated people and tried to eat them all or dragons died to save people, there’s no in between. I’m kinda scared.”

 

Lucy put her arm around her tiny best friend, “I don’t know how it will work, but I know the slayers and they are constantly putting themselves in danger to save people.  I guess there could be bad dragons, but I think all of ours are good. If all of this is to save the world from leviathans, then why would bad dragon souls be brought back?”  The blonde frowned a bit, “I think I’ll feel better once Bix has more answers for us. I’ve never seen him so serious, I mean, he can be, but generally he likes to have fun even between the serious parts.  I hope we get our answers soon.” A large hand landed on each of the girls heads and a cackling laugh sounded and they looked up to see the lolling tongue of the seith mage, “It’ll be ok, be good little girls while I sit and talk with the dragon now, ok?”  With that he sat himself at the head of the box and began his breathing exercises to slip into a meditative state, Freed stepped up to him and clipped his visor in place quietly before smiling at the girls and returning to the others.

 

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He was back on that same sandy beach, the same soft waves lapping at the shore.  Only this time there was a rather large dragon staring back at him from the sea. “Hello, soul seer.  I knew you would return.” Uriel said, her voice was calm, almost like the waves themselves. She was the color of the ocean, blue, green, white and every variant of those colors shining from slick scales.  She had legs and wings, but her body seemed to made more like a serpent, long and fluid, her feet webbed but still equipped with sharp talons. Her eyes were like opals, glimmering and reflecting the sea and the sun.

 

“Yeah, so, uh…”Bickslow began, then stopped. “Ok.  I gotta know, do you ever leave the water?” She seemed to smile a bit at him and answered.  “You are quick. I can, but I prefer not to. As you can see my body is made for the sea and it is where I am the most comfortable.  And as for your next question, not all mated pairs make sense, Igneel and I are one of the best examples. Long ago, when we were mated, he lived in a volcano by the sea and that is how we were able to stay close by each other.  When I was taken away, he found his home farther inland, no doubt the sea only caused him pain. I watched him from afar, unable to even let him know where I was. Oh yes, he knew I was alive, because he was alive. Mates cannot live without each other...no matter the distance if they both live all is well, if not a touch painful sometimes.  I watched as he raised Natsu, my son, in a sense.” She gave a sad smile, “This day has been such a long time in coming. You have many questions, I am sure, but first we need to remove the Leviathan from Hali’s soul. Then you can allow her to wake and we will begin teaching those who harbor dragon souls how to transform.”

Bickslow blinked, she had answered his questions without him even voicing them, as though she read his mind.  “How did you do that?” He felt a little frightened if he was honest with himself. She rumbled a soft laugh, “I possess the ability to read thoughts.  Do you not remember speaking with me even when you could not see my form?” He nodded, but still was a bit shaken. “I just thought it was because of the meditation and because you were in that girl’s soul.”  Thinking back over it, it made sense to him, but it was just odd seeing her and still having her in his mind. “I guess this is one of those dragon things I will get used to, right?”  _ Yes, it is.  Now it is time to learn.  You harbor a dragon soul as well, in fact all those that will help contain the Leviathan do and are here _ .  Bickslow’s eyes went wide, “I thought you were joking about me being a dragon?”  Uriel shook her large head, _ No, you hold the soul of one of the most powerful dragons, Sephtis, the dragon of death.  He holds the power to see, read, heal and move souls, just like you...a perfect match. But don’t dwell on it now.  We will need the iron slayer, the light slayer and the script mages to help you. _

 

When Bickslow finally came back to himself he slumped a bit before being caught by Laxus.  He was exhausted, he couldn’t even begin to move himself and he slowly blinked up at the slayer.  The huge mage nodded and picked him up and carried him to his tent, calling for Freed to help him and for Wendy to bring food and water when she came to tend to Bickslow.  After food and water Bickslow was finally able to speak again and he quickly passed on what he needed to so those who would be helping him could prepare. He lay quietly as Wendy checked him over and asked Laxus to make sure he had as much water as he needed and he finally fell into a much needed sleep.           


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, a few notes before we carry on. As you can imagine there is going to be some OOC and non cannon, especially after this chapter. If you have seen a dragon in the FT anime/manga, that is what it looks like. I am not going to change those physical appearances. However, new dragons that may be introduced may be based on a pernese dragon base. (Dragonriders of Pern, if you have not read the series I suggest you do. Anne Mcaffrey is amazing.) You can of course look up what Pern dragons look like, to give you some ideas if you want to. Also, the Soul Realm will have a big purpose in the work.   
> I hope you've been enjoying this work, it's been fun so far for me.

The rune box held in Freed’s hands looked beautiful, inside floated an orb of dark steel surrounded by blinding light.  The runes that made up the box had every possible rule both of the rune mages could think of and then some added that Uriel had suggested through Bickslow.  It was a one foot square work of art and soon it would house one of the most dangerous souls that any of them had ever known. Only Bickslow, Sting, Freed and Levy remained in the camp.  All the others were standing guard just outside it, ready to fight in the event that something went wrong and the soul transfer didn’t work. Freed had written runes around them to protect them from soul possession, Sting stood ready to release blinding light, and Bickslow was sitting at the head of the box again meditating and preparing.  Uriel had explained that the steel orb reinforced by rune magic would house the demon’s soul, the light surrounding it would weaken it and the runes would be the last barrier should it escape the orb.

 

“I’m ready.” Bickslow’s voice was low, calm.  His eyes still closed in meditation as he focused on the soul he needed to remove without harming the other two.  “Freed let the box go.” Freed nodded, even though he knew the seith couldn’t see him, Levy and Sting standing ready.  Sting already glowing bright as his magic surged. The large box surrounding the girl dissolved and she began to glow a slight, soft green.  “Close your eyes.” Freed warned and the other mages complied. Bickslow’s eyes opened and green poured forth, the green surrounding the girl’s body gained in strength and drew up into her chest and slowly the green orb rose from her chest.  Bickslow was sweating, it was easy to rip out a soul, but to take it carefully without causing harm was far harder. He was breathing hard as he slowly moved the ball into the orb Freed held in the box, the soul fought as it touched the orb. “Sting...light.”  Freed gasped as he used all his strength to hold the box steady for Bickslow. Blinding light filled the area and even though the soul kept resisting it was finally forced into the orb, the runes activated and glowed a bright purple. The light inside the box grew brighter as the soul tried to force its way out of the orb, despite the weakening effect of the light.  After what seemed an eternity to the mages, the runes glow settled into the steady pattern they all knew meant they were not being tested. The light never lessened, keeping the orb surrounded as it was meant to.

 

“That’s it...it’s sealed.” Bickslow croaked and fell back, unconscious.  Levy rushed to him as Sting and Freed also sank to their knees, their magic drained so far that they could no longer stand.  “Wendy!” She yelled as she cradled the mages head in her lap, “It’s done! We need you to help Bickslow!!”

 

Wendy and the other dragon slayers were the first back in the camp, the sky dragon slayer immediately working on Bickslow to help restore some of his magic.  Levy helped place the visor back on his face and leaned back into Gajeel who was now kneeling behind her. Laxus was doing the same with Freed as Rogue was with Sting. The mated slayers growling lowly as they felt the drain from their partners.  Makarov carefully took the small rune box from Freed, allowing Laxus to finally gather him up and carry him to their tent to rest, Rogue had already disappeared with Sting. Natsu gathered up Bickslow and moved him to the tent with the other members of the Thunder Legion as Wendy continued to work on him.  Erza stayed close to the still sleeping girl, as did Gray, neither comfortable leaving her unwatched even if the soul transfer had been successful. Makarov returned after a few minutes without the rune box and sat with them. “What now, Master?” The Re quip mage asked as she watched the sleeping form.  Makarov sighed, “Now we will wait a bit and let the human and dragon souls heal, Wendy will come and see to her once she is able.  Then she will wake and we will finally meet her, her name is Hali, by the way.” The three sat in silence to wait until the smallest dragon slayer was available.

 

_________________________________

  
  


Deep, cerulean eyes opened and closed once again at the bright light.  Hali felt hands touching her and heard voices, voices she didn’t understand.  She tensed and then finally heard the voice of her dragon,  _ Easy child...they are friends.  The small one is healing you, let her work _ .  Hali relaxed again and tried to piece together what had happened to her, she remembered a storm and falling, the sea swallowing her.  That should not have had any effect on her, she was raised in the sea, her dragon form a sea dragon so it didn’t make sense. There was blackness in her memories that she could not pierce.   _ What happened to us?  Uriel, where were you? _

 

_ We were taken by the Leviathan. It has had us for, at most, several months.  These mages found you. Igneel’s son found you. Now, we will finally meet the others and we will be able to bring all the dragons back and finally defeat the Leviathan _ .  She could feel Uriel smile, feel her love for Igneel.  She knew her dragon had waited centuries to be reunited with her mate and that wait was almost over.  She had some questions about how that would all work, but now was not the time to ask them. Now she would rest and when she woke she would meet the rest of her kin and finally Uriel would have her mate again. 

 

Cobra grinned a bit as he sat beside Wendy and the others while she worked on Hali.  “She is aware we are here, but the dragoness has told her to rest. She won’t be a problem.  She does not speak common it seems, though, so that may be an issue.” Natsu shook his head, “No, it won’t take long to teach her.  Uriel knows how to speak it, I wonder why she never taught her.” He mused as he played with Gray’s fingers. Erik heard the worry in his thoughts, how would his and Gray’s relationship work if Igneel’s mate was back.  He was not mated, but he figured this would be just about as awkward as it could get if you were or about to be, as was the case with Natsu and Gray. Wendy finally stopped her work and looked up to him, “I’ve done all I can do, Erik.  What do you hear?”

 

He focused and listened for the two souls in the tiny body.  “The little human is sleeping, dreaming. The dragoness is...sort of asleep, but not really.  She seems to be remembering.” He chuckled suddenly, “Yes, ma’am. She just told me to back off, and somehow blocked me.  I guess I’m not supposed to see those memories.” He looked at Natsu, “Your dad, she was thinking of Igneel.” The thump in Natsu’s chest was audible to every slayer in the camp as he gasp and grasped his chest.  “Whoa!!” Erik almost yelled, “Don’t do that! Stop...it’s not time, Igneel!”

 

Every slayer was suddenly surrounding them and those who were not had been pushed back away from Natsu.  He seemed to be trying to calm himself, still grasping at his chest. “Wendy, just touch him and give him a little support.” Erik instructed, following the directions he heard from Igneel’s soul.  He didn’t even think about how strange it was to speak to the dragon’s soul, even though it had never happened before with any of the other slayers. In a corner of his mind it was strange, but at the same time it was so natural.  He heard almost everyone’s thoughts, so maybe that was why he didn’t question it. “I can hear Igneel. I’m sorry Natsu, I’ve never heard him before so I didn’t know he could hear me. When I told you that, it riled him up.” The usually acerbic slayer apologised.

 

Natsu laughed a little, “It felt like he was going to rip out of my chest.  Where’s Gray?” In seconds cold hands rubbed his back, and he felt the ice mage’s head rest against his shoulder.  “Listen,” Erik began again, looking disturbed. “I don’t know how I know this, ok, so just don’t ask. I’ve never had a dragon, so I have no clue who is talking to me right now.  It’s kinda freaking me out but it says not to worry. No one will lose their mate, and to trust that your dragons will guide you….and to ask the soul seer and the star seer about the soul realm.”  

  
  


Everyone of them jumped when they heard the tiny, rough voice next to them, “Tobor vur wer sepa tlushic persvek wer iski.”  They all slowly looked down to see a set of cerulean eyes looking tiredly back at them. “Si mi Hali Shesha wer quma,do batobot ui loaw.”


	8. Chapter 8

Several hours had passed since Hali had awakened, she was now asleep again, having been moved to Natsu and Gray’s tent.  Natsu could not stay away from her it seemed, Igneel making him protective of her. At the same time, he struggled to keep Gray right next to him, everyone could see how confused he was.  Hali had assured him that he would not lose his mate and that it would be ok, he just had to wait a bit longer and she had tried to make sure Gray understood she was not going to take Natsu from him.  It took some convincing to make them understand that she was more a sister to Natsu, they just carried their parents souls inside them, which honestly in this case, did nothing to help anyone’s nerves.

 

Makarov had spent quite a bit of time talking with Uriel using Erik as a translator.  They had begun working on the next steps to take in bringing the dragons back. First and foremost, Igneel and Uriel would need to be reunited.  Then Lucy and Bickslow would need to learn how to make the transition. She had told them as she woke that “life and the soul begin in the stars” so it seemed they would be taking a leading role in all this.  Then it would come time for the rest of the slayers to learn to make the transition and reunite with their dragons or meet them for the first time in Laxus and Erik’s case. Finally, the others who harbored souls would be taught, firstly, how to make the transition and then their dragon would teach them dragon slayer magic, just as the first generation slayers had been taught.

 

This was no overnight miracle they had realized.   The world was about to change and they had to learn so much to make it happen and to keep it safe, more importantly.  Hali had checked the box that the Leviathan had been sealed in and Uriel has been impressed with the mage's abilities, saying they were worthy of their dragons.  After several more days of rest it was finally time to go back home to Magnolia and they had never been happier. The promises of Mira’s food, hot showers and their own beds made everyone giddy, except Hali.  She hung back nervously as they all packed and prepared to start back home, and of course, Natsu noticed.

 

“What’s wrong?”  He asked, naturally speaking in draconic,  as he sat down beside her, he reached for her hand and they both felt the jolt of the dragon souls inside them.  “That’s gonna take some getting used to…” He gave a half laugh. She smiled and nodded. It didn’t last long though as a small frown appeared again, “I’ve never been around people before.  At all.” She told him. “Uriel’s soul came to me when I was a child, and most of my life we’ve lived in the Soul Realm...so until I saw you, you are the first person I had seen in my life.”  Natsu blinked and shook his head, “Say that again? You’ve never seen people before?”

 

“No, I know I had parents, but I was too young to remember them when Uriel came to me.  All I’ve known is her, and her memories of Igneel. I’ve watched you ever since Igneel found you.  Known you were my brother. It’s a thing you can do from there, you can watch other realms. There were other people in that realm, but Uriel never let me go near them.  She said we had to train and be ready. I can’t even speak with other people, our language is not known outside of our own kind. But, even then, they seem so….human.” She laughed a little, a tiny confused laugh.  “I never really understood that I was actually human before. Uriel is trying to comfort me and tell me it was so I would be protected, and I know that.” Hali wiped her hand over her face and looked up at the sky, “But I am so confused.  I want to touch you so much, but I don’t. I know it’s Uriel and Igneel, but it’s….I can’t stay away from you. I don’t even know you, I’ve just watched you...you are not my mate and you have a mate and it’s so very wrong. I don’t even know if humans mate...do they?”

 

Natsu took a breath, “Ok...humans don’t really mate, but they marry.  It’s a lifelong commitment too, but they can break it if they want to.  It’s not like dragons and slayers. And yeah, I understand how you feel...Igneel’s got me all worked up over getting to Uriel, but yeah...no and it’s really hard to do that to Gray.  I have no idea what to do either and it kinda freaks me out that you’ve been watching me my whole life...and that you’re like supposed to be my sister and none of this make sense. I really need to have a clear head...and that is not happening...I need to beat the crap out of something, but that will just get me Lucy Kicked or, even worse, Erza slapped.  And now I just need to stop talking because I think I stopped making sense about three hours ago.” He looked up at her, and she smiled back.

 

She stood and took a deep breath, “My whole life has been for this.  I can do it.” She said softly to herself, then turning back to the fire mage, “Well, looks like it’s time to go...while we travel can you help me learn to speak the other language?”  Natsu stood and they joined the group and they all headed out, “Yeah...all us slayers can help...not to worry, and Freed and Levy are the language experts and mated to slayers...so they can help too.  They joined the rest of the group as they all embarked back on the road back home, both Natsu and Hali feeling better after their rambling talk. Natsu snagged Gray’s hand as they started walking and then reached back for Hali with his other, she hesitated a moment before taking it with a shy smile.  The second their hands touched they both let out a happy sounding purr that had every slayer looking back.

 

Natsu blushed and pouted, “Shut it...creeps.  Just let Igneel be happy for a bit!” Put in their place, the other slayers determinedly kept their mouth shut and eyes forward.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are skipping some time here....and we are getting to meet some dragons....

Hali opened her eyes to the sound of purring.   _ Natsu _ , she thought.  It wasn’t uncommon to wake with him curled in her bed anymore, months of training and trips back and forth to the Soul Realm to learn how to transition and let Uriel and Igneel see each other had made them incredibly close. He was the best big brother she could ever have asked for, the entire thing with Uriel and Igneel occasionally got a bit awkward, but everyone had adjusted.  It only took Bickslow and Cobra getting their asses beat twice before the jokes had stopped, or at least stopped where Natsu, Hali or Gray could hear them. She stretched and dug her way out of Natsu’s little nest of blankets and headed for the shower. She heard a mumbled, “I don’t wanna get up” from the bed before he started snoring again.

 

Today was a big day, after months of getting to know their inner dragons several of the slayers would be making their first transitions today.  Once they could make the transition easily they would be learning to go to the Soul Realm and split into their human and dragons so they could be trained.  For those who had already been dragon slayers it had been fairly obvious that as the others got to know their dragons and everyone else's that their had been some major attractions, so she hoped today would go smoothly.  Dragons did not have any issues with courting in full view of everyone and everything, so hopefully there would be no public displays that would have them cringing when they were back in their human forms. She remembered teaching Natsu all to well, Igneel had been hard convince that he needed to wait until he and Uriel were in the Soul Realm to reunite properly.  She had not been able to look at Natsu for days without turning an alarming shade of red. That was the day she went to Freed and Levy and asked for their help in seeking the magic that would make it possible to separate the souls and allow both dragon and human to live separately again.

 

After her morning routine and finally calling Gray to come and retrieve Natsu they finally arrived at the training field to meet the first pair of slayers for the day.  Lucy and Bickslow stood nervously to the side, standing close but looking in opposite directions. They had mostly come to terms with their dragons and the fact that it seemed they were mates, but it still got a little odd for them.  Hali had known all along, the sky and the soul were always meant to be together. She had worked with them the most as they possessed the magic needed to make it all happen. Bickslows odd sense of humor sometimes got him smacked, by both Lucy and Hali, but it was to be expected.  The Dragon of Death’s uncouth humor was legend and it seemed his soul had found the perfect human to train. Gray arrived a few minutes later dragging a still grumbling Natsu. “I wanted to sleep, ice princess!!”

 

Hali rolled her eyes, “You know, you promised to train Gray today, Natsu.  Don’t you want to meet Jokul?” Gray blushed as Natsu instantly nuzzled into his neck, purring at the thought of meeting his mates dragon.  Hali laughed at them, they had finally mated not long after they had gotten back to Magnolia, but Gray still turned the cutest shade of pink anytime Natsu got cuddly in public.  Gray failed to keep himself from hugging Natsu as he asked, “So, Igneel and Uriel will be here today while we learn?” He was hoping to get Natsu back for embarrassing him, but the answer he got only confused him. “No, today you will be meeting my dragon, me.  Not my father.” Natsu purred into his neck.

 

Gray’s eyes went wide, “What?”  Lucy and Bickslow joined them, both wearing matching looks of confusion as well.  Hali laughed a bit and explained. “All dragon slayers have a piece of their dragon’s soul.  It’s part of how we become slayers. For Natsu and me, it is a bit different. We hold our parent’s souls, our mated parents.  Once a dragon gives us a part of their soul it becomes us, we hold the power of a new dragon. We are the son or daughter of that dragon.  I am the daughter of Uriel, so even though I hold her soul, I also hold my dragon soul. Natsu is the son of Igneel so he has his own dragon soul as well as Igneel’s.  It will be like that for all slayer’s who had a dragon. They will have their own dragon soul as well as their parents.” She held up her hands as the three new slayers started to bombard her with questions, “We waited to lessen the shock...and as a nice surprise for Gray.  Honestly, it’s been very uncomfortable for us.” She laughed a little as everyone else nodded at how true this was. Everyone could see how hard it had been for her, Gray and Natsu and no one had envied them for it. Bickslow opened his mouth, but before he could even utter a word he received an elbow to the side, “Damn, Cosplayer, I was just going to say that it was true.”

 

Hail decided to interrupt before he got beaten again, “Ok, meditation.  Let’s get going. You’ve gotten to know your dragons, you’ve built trust.  Now, let them guide you. The transition will feel strange the first few times.  Your goal is to not panic, control your breathing and let your dragon control the rate of change as it happens.  You should not feel pain, stretching of your magic and possibly physical is not out of the question, but it should not be painful.” She paused to swat at Natsu who was trying to play with her hair, “If you feel pain, you need to refocus and breathe.  Relaxation is key.”

 

They all nodded in understanding and took up their various poses for meditation.  Natsu and Gray facing each other, Lucy and Bickslow facing Hali. For nearly half an hour nothing was heard save for the deep breathing as they meditated and focused, the increase in magical energy could be felt in the guild however where Makarov sat on the bar and hoped his guildhall survived this first set of transitions.  “You’re gonna need to breathe Gramps.” Laxus reminded him. Mira smirked from a ways down the bar. “I’m sure it will be ok, Lucy and Hali can handle them.” And that was what they were all hoping for, this first transition was the most risky. Natsu was bringing out his own dragon along with Gray’s and then there was Bickslow, whose dragon was, they had been told, one hundred times worse than he was.  Everyone in the guildhall would have had to admit to lying if they said they were not nervous...and also hiding behind rune shield that Freed had put up the day before.

 

Back on the practice fields the magic had increased and a shimmering in the air could be seen as the five humans began to fade and change.  To anyone watching it would have seemed like a slow slide of hand trick, but slowly the humans left to leave towering dragons sitting in the field.  Oki, Hali’s dragon, smiled. “You all did wonderfully. I am Oki, Hail’s inner dragon. Right now I need you all to just remain still. You need to get used to how this body feels and looks.  Look around you and see how your fellow dragons look and take slow movements to feel out your own bodies. It’s different, so you need to move slowly as you learn how to move.” Oki stretched out a pair of pearlescent wings the color ever changing, like a pearl underwater.  Her body was a soft blue, every movement gave the illusion of water reflecting sunlight.

 

Haydn’s first thought as he looked at Jokul was not really fit for this scenario and he had to reign it in.  He took a deep rumbling breath as he looked over his mate, snow white and somehow still cold as ice even though the day was relatively warm.  “I am Haydn, Natsu’s inner dragon.” He introduced himself, and even though it was said politely Jokul could see he was having trouble not tackling him. “None of that right now!” The white dragon shot back, “I still have to get used to this...entire thing!”  He heard Oki laugh and she admonished Haydn, “I warned you, but you wanted to do this...so you have to behave. Take him for a walk so he can learn how it feels to move in this body.” The red dragon, who looked almost identical to his father nodded his head and began to lead his mate toward the mountains.

 

Channah, Lucy’s inner dragon, was still sitting in her place, eyes closed.  “I still feel like me, in my mind, I mean. It’s amazing. I know my name is Channah and I am the Celestial dragon, but there is no difference in my thoughts.”  She stretched her claws a bit and turned her head to get a feel for it. Sephtis, Bickslow’s dragon, snorted and much to Oki’s surprise his tongue lolled out of his maw as he laughed, “What did you expect, Cosplayer?  To be taking a back seat to the other half of your soul?”

 

“Oh my….” Oki sighed, “I didn’t expect you to be so much like him Sephtis.”  The enormous black dragon chuckled as he stood and stretched, his scales looked rough compared to the smoothness of the others and no wings adorned his back.  “Like minds and all that.” He responded before he nudged the dragon next to him, “You look amazing by the way.” Channah opened her eyes to finally look over herself.  Deep, dark blue scales interrupted every now and again by a few patched of gold lined her body. Her underbelly was a soft golden as were he claws, wings dark as night and yet shimmering like the stars stretched out as she tested them.  “Wow. Bix, I mean, Seph...you look….wow.”

 

He grinned at her, before nuzzling her.  “I really do not want to behave right now.  If it wasn’t clear to me before, it certainly is now that you are my mate.”  He kept right on nuzzling up under her chin, almost purring. She carefully stepped back, “Yeah, you’re gonna have to stop that or we are gonna get in trouble.”  A strange look suddenly crossed her face and she spun to look at Oki, “Wait, we are mates….and mates, eventually have kids...er hatchlings.” Oki nodded and she continued, “How is that gonna work?  I mean, do we stay human or dragon or what?” Sephtis, while pleased she was all for hatchlings, stepped in, “Whoa, I think there may be more to focus on before hatchlings there, Starshine.”

 

Oki laughed, “We’ll get to that.  In the meantime, females will need to procure a talisman from Porlyusica to prevent that.  Once you’ve all transitioned we will have a big “this is how dragon society works” talk. I will tell you that we are matriarchal and females pretty much rule, but Igneel is the Fire Dragon King so he will also be high up.  You two are just about top of the entire thing, Sephtis do not let that go to your head...again. Life and death are two of the most powerful magics and you represent them. When I said life begins in the stars, I meant it. You will learn the history that your dragon knows, Lucy.  Channah will teach you. Now, why don’t you two take a walk and get used to how you move. Sephtis honestly should have no issues as Bickslow is trained to know where every part of his body is at all times, but it won’t hurt to practice that skill in this larger body...and you do have a tail now.”  She laughed a bit.

 

The dark dragon laughed as well, “True, very true.  Come on Starshine, let’s go walk and talk and not do naughty things.” 


	10. It's a note from the crazy human

So...what do you get when I need to take a bit of a break from thinking and such?  You get a baby dragon.  I don't know if this little one will make an appearance...but I wonder if you can guess whose dragonling it would be?  ;)

The base for this little one is by [lxxmellodyxxl](https://www.deviantart.com/lxxmellodyxxl/) on deviantArt.  This dragon is based on the Pern Dragons from the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McAffrey.

I love the look of Pern Dragons and I may do a visual for all of the dragons...some based on Pern Dragons...some based on more traditional types.

Either way...here is a little baby dragon... [virtual] cookies to those who can guess parents!!  hehehe

 


	11. Chapter 11

While her first set of trainees were off to learn their lesson for the day Hali took a moment to breathe before the next set arrived.  She didn’t get much of a break before she heard them approaching. Rogue and Sting walked along hand in hand and Sting seemed fairly subdued for once.  Gajeel and Levy followed not two minutes later, the Iron slayer grouchy as ever and being dragged by the tiny woman by the arm. Hali had to laugh, how true it was that dragon’s always choose the perfect one to complete and even them out.  The snarly Iron slayer, matched by his tiny, loving and happy mate. The over excited and constantly moving Light slayer completed by the calm and stern shadows of Rogue. She thought of Igneel, his fiery conviction always ready to defend and protect.  His temper often quick, matched by Uriel’s love and patience and coolness...just like the ocean tides. She had just a fleeting moment of sadness as she realized she herself had not found that perfect half. Uriel had, Natsu had. Once they learned to separate from their parents souls, she would be alone.  She could never remember being alone, Uriel had been with her from the beginning of her memories. She shook the thoughts from her mind and welcomed her next set of trainees.

  
  


“Hello, it’s time to learn to transition into your dragon forms.  Levy, as you know you will be meeting Metallicana, Weisslogia and Skiadrum first.  After they have had some time here you will transition back and you will meet your mate’s dragon, as will you Rogue and Sting.  You are all going to be very drained by the end of this, so I doubt there will be any funny business, however, Sting, I will say it anyway.  No mating, no public displays of an inappropriate nature, yada, yada. Same goes for you Gajeel. Today is about learning to transition and then learning how to move in your new body and bonding with your dragon or dragons as it were.”

 

Neither Gajeel or Sting even tried to deny the possibility of misbehaving, however their mates gave them stern looks.  They all took their meditation stances and began their lesson quietly, other than Gajeel’s grumbled “Darn woman ruins every bit of fun.”

 

Levy managed to make the change in about the same time as the others, which Hali was very impressed with.  Once the five dragons opened their eyes they realized only four of them were of a height. Metallicana looked down and laughed at the little dragon next to him, “Well, if you were hoping for some sort of growth spurt, it looks like you’re out of luck.”  The other 3 dragons chuckled, however Weisslogia was more kind in his words, “Don’t worry about him, little one. You do not need to tower over everything to be strong. Now, who do we have the pleasure of meeting?”

 

The smaller dragon looked back on herself, trying to take it all in as she spoke in a slightly distracted tone, “My name is Eldreda.  I am a Sage Dragon.” She was still looking over her multi hued scales and wings. The colors sometimes seem to shift as she thought of different things.  She thought of Gajeel’s iron and her scales flashed a rusty iron and then of Gray’s ice and watched them flash an icy white. “Hmmm, that’s interesting.” She mused.  Oki smiled at her, “You are a quick learner, as expected of one who would house Sage magic. Your scales will reflect the color or qualities of the magic you think of and prepare to send to others.”

 

The three other dragons talked with each other for a time, they did not need much time to get accustomed to moving as a dragon, after all, but they found it  endlessly refreshing to be in their physical form again and even asked Oki to allow Uriel to come out so they could discuss a few things. While they had their meeting Eldreda got used to her wings and how to move, she even tossed a bit of magic out around the training area.  In her mind, Levy sat amazed and at the same time so in love with the dragon who had chosen her. The duality of their minds was amazing and she knew she would have hours of research and study ahead of her. After the elder dragons had finished with their meeting Uriel left and Oki returned and then she directed Gajeel, Sting and Rogue in the transition to their own dragons.

 

Levy took the opportunity to make the change to human and back again, Gajeel joked that she just liked homework, and she did not deny it.  She made the change a bit faster the second time and it was less disorienting, feeling more natural. She smiled as she looked up, once again, to find she was the smallest one in the bunch.  She didn’t even have time to really register the other dragons as a large rusty dragon leaned down to stare into her eyes with intense ruby eyes of his own. She blinked her opal eyes and smiled, _ my mate _ , her soul purred.  “I am Isen and I am looking forward to spending the day with you, my love.” His deep rumble had her leaning into him for a cuddle.

 

Oki spoke up quickly, as Wynn (Sting’s dragon) was currently pulling almost the exact same stunt with Kaage (Rogue’s dragon), “Well, now I do believe I said NO inappropriate public displays of affection Isen and Wynn!”  Twin rumbles of displeasure could be heard as both Eldreda and Kaage stepped slightly away from their mates, the air of embarrassment obvious around them. Isen grumbled under his breath a moment before he faced her, “Sheesh, we’re dragons ya know.  It’s somewhat of an instinct.” Wynn agreed and even the others had to give him that one. After a few laughs and promises to not scar humans for life with any mating related anything the two pairs wandered off to spend their afternoon together, leaving Oki to shift into Hali.  She smiled as she watched them go settled down for a rest before all her students for the day returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit short, sorry. Life is in a bit of turmoil right now. My husband is preparing to leave for the UK for a year for work and my parents health has kept me from writing also. Chapters may be slower in coming, but I will try to have something up every so often. Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

The first day of transitions was coming to a close.  Nothing had been destroyed, no one had been killed and no humans had been subjected to seeing any dragon mating behavior.  Hali felt that is had been just about perfect and she was ready to meet with them all once more before night fell. She had flitted about throughout the day checking in on the four pairs and most of what she had found would make kittens nauseous at the sweetness.

 

Hayden and Jokul had spent the day cuddling while going over dragon history.  The large red dragon curled protectively around his white mate. They had trained a bit with breathing fire and ice over the ocean, but mostly took the time to just learn and be in each other’s presence.  Hali was honestly surprised her brother could be that sweet sometimes. Channah and Sephtis had spent the day moving and walking, Channah getting acquainted with not only her mate but Lucy’s spirits as well.  She was surprised to learn that Sephtis could fly, even without wings. He had laughed at his mate and replied, “Did you ever see the grim reaper with wings, doll?” Hali had laughed at that and had been caught “spying” and she had run away before the jokester could get his claws on her to “punish” her.  

 

When she had checked in with Isen and Eldreda she was not surprised in the least to see the tiny dragon flying around Isen’s head learning to evade his huge claws and throw iron to him at the same time.  The Sage dragon was every bit as studious as her human and it showed, and while Isen was gruff and rough like Gajeel, he took training his mate just as seriously. That was proved when Eldreda was not fast enough and got a rough swat to her leg that ended in a earth shaking tumble. “You gotta watch, little one.” Isen had admonished while helping her up and checking her over carefully, “You are strong and agile, but still small.  You have to use your speed to avoid claws and tails that will hurt ya.” Hali had nearly cried at the care in the rough dragon’s voice, but managed to keep quiet as she moved away. This is what she loved about dragonkind, love was deep and eternal. Mates, kin, hatchlings, family….so much love. 

 

Then she checked in on her last pair and almost facepalmed.  Kaage was definitely getting a workout today….in avoiding Wynn’s advances.  How Rogue put up with Sting was beyond her, she knew they loved each other deeply, but she would have killed Sting/Wynn if she had to put up with him.  “I thought I said nothing raunchy.” She scolded as she moved from her hiding place into view. “Oh thank God,” Kaage breathed. “Please tell me we can change back and I can take this idiot home!”  It took her a few moments to school her features back into serious, “I was going to make you both come back until the final meeting, but…” She was interrupted as Wynn jumped onto his mate’s back again.  He didn’t get far with this try either as Kaage simply melted into shadow and reappeared several yards away from him. “Anyway,” Hali continued, shaking her head, “please take him home and do whatever it is that will make him behave and do not ever tell me about it.”

 

When she got back to the training grounds everyone else was waiting and they all changed back to their human forms and took a few minutes to talk about what they had learned and how well it had gone.  No one mentioned that Sting and Rogue were nowhere to be found. Hali waved goodbye to everyone and started to head to the guild, she was ready for some food, but before she got halfway there Natsu popped up by her side.  “I thought you and Gray would be busy about now.” She said, grinning. Natsu elbowed her, “Nah, not yet. I wanted to talk to you.” She eyed him warily. “What about?”

 

Natsu slowed his walk, and she copied him.  “You’ve been upset today. Lonely. Igneel says you are worried about being alone.”  She frowned, Uriel told Igneel everything and he told Natsu everything, she never had a chance at hiding anything.  “I’m fine, Natsu. I will adjust. It’s just going to be strange without Uriel when the time comes.” Natsu nodded and they continued walking for a few minutes.  Then he perked up, “Yeah, but you know...you have a mate out there too…” and with that he was gone. Sprinting ahead to the guild and through the doors leaving her shaking her head, he knew everything and right now she couldn’t regret it.  It was nice to have her brother and his mate to cheer her up and fill her days with laughter.

 

Over the next few days the training continued until everyone could transition smoothly.  Each of the pairs enjoyed their days together learning, and Hali enjoyed her day spent with Wendy as neither of them were mated.  Hali discovered that she had much more than she ever imagined with they tiny Sky dragon and Uriel and Oki loved spending time with Grandeeney and Azura.  She was stunned to see that she and Azura looked so much alike, while she reflected the water, the Sky dragon reflected the blue and white of the sky. 

 

It had been stunning to see Laxus and Freed in their dragon forms, Rai shining as though every movement was electrical and Ciar so dark it was if you were looking into the abyss.  They worked well together, just as their humans did, though Ciar was much more forward than Freed had ever been. Juvia and Erik were shocking as well. Erik’s venom had returned as soon as they had returned to Magnolia and then finding out he had a mate and that mate was the Water Woman had tossed him into fits for quite a few days.  Juvia had taken it in stride, though her shock was evident as was her nervousness at being close to the Poison slayer. Once in their dragon forms, Indra had put the poisonous Visha in his place. The Water dragon was not timid, though Juvia’s kindness still shown in her eyes. Visha, on the other hand, literally spat poison at her. Upon finding out it had no effect he had sulked, but their day together had ended on a good note as Indra had finally got the ornery dragon to sit and talk and they had become much more at ease with each other.

 

Hali had nearly fallen over in laughter at Erza and Jellal, their constant awkward love for each other had hindered their initial transformation, but the second time they had gotten it.  Ricci’s strange mirrored scales reflected Raka’s pale blue beautifully, like a lake reflecting the moon. The pair had spent their time working together and helping Ricci perfect her spacial magic, the Infinity dragon nervous as she tried to use if the first few times.  Raka’s powers were much stronger under his element, the moon, so they agreed to work overnight on his skills. Then Hali came to her last pair, a bit nervously. Evergreen and Loke were not good friends, in general, and Loke was almost beside himself to be away from his Princess.  The Spirit King had been consulted and had verified that Loke had, in fact, been chosen to carry the soul of the Sun dragon, Helios.

 

Lucy had been so proud she had nearly choked him to death and the other spirits shared her enthusiasm that a Celestial Spirit had been chosen by such a powerful dragon.  Once he had accepted that, the fact that he was Evergreen’s mate hit him, and her, and that lead to some awkwardness between just about everyone. However, once Laine, the Nature dragon, stood before Helios neither of them could deny it.  How could the plants and nature ever live without the sun? It was poetic, if Hali could put one word to it. Helios was every bit as smooth as Leo the Lion, but Laine was far softer than anyone could have imagined. The beautiful green dragon had said that her human was just as soft as she was, but afraid to be hurt, at which the gleaming gold dragon curled around his mate whispering his undying love to her.

 

All in all everything went almost too well, Makarov was overjoyed.  All the dragon transitions had taken place and nothing had been destroyed.  He had even shed a few drunken tears over it. Hali had laughed at him and gathered the entire guild in to teach them how dragon society worked.  No one spoke as she and Natsu explained about the matriarchal society, where females ruled. The reasons, they explained, were simple; male dragons were so strong they needed a balance.  The females provided it in the form of a calmer personality and a more rational mind. They explained that the very top of their society was centered around life and death and therefore, Lucy/Channah and Bickslow/Sephtis would be the top of their brood with Igneel and Uriel right behind them and from there the others would sort it out from there.  Natsu and Hali announced that they had only a little more training to do before Igneel and Uriel would be able to reappear in bodies of their own, which would mean that soon dragons would inhabit the world again. It seemed impossible but after so long, the world they lived in would once again be home to the great dragons. Gajeel hadn’t stopped purring the rest of the night, the joy at seeing his father once more to much joy for even the gruff slayer to keep hidden.  The others had no issues letting out rumbles and purrs of happiness, Wendy even crying in joy at the thought of being with Grandeeny again. All in all the weekend that followed was by far the loudest and longest party in Fairy Tail history.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok...I got inspired. I hope this one was better than the last chapter.


	13. Updated Note

The next chapter is going slowly.  Tons going on in real life, but I'm working on it as I can.  I can say that you will get to meet a new dragon when I finally finish it and get it posted!!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you know, life has been quite stressful. I did a little short T rated one shot a bit ago that I may turn into a kind of series for stress relief. I honestly don't know if this chapter is any good...but we'll post it and move on...and welcome the newest dragon...

Winter wind ripped through the training grounds where Natsu stalked with Gray trailing behind him, both sniffing and clearly on a mission.  Everything had been fine, everyone had been happy and then suddenly Hali was gone from her home. The dragons had been separated from the slayers and after a month or so of adjustment, tears and joy the guild had settled down.  The slayers had continued their training and had learned how to travel to the Soul Realm and back without issues. They were gaining strength everyday and the pairs were getting closer as well, in fact, most of the pairs now lived together.  Hali and Wendy lived with each other since neither of them were mated and they had seemed happy. Then he had woken to pounding on his door and when Gray had answered it, Wendy told him that when she had woke Hali had been gone this morning and she couldn’t find her anywhere.

 

Natsu had gone immediately to Uriel and Igneel, but neither of them had seen her either.  They had checked the Soul Realm, the Spirit Realm, the other guilds but nothing had been found.  Now Natsu and Gray were stomping through the cold heading right back to where it all started, back to the jungle.  Erik and Juvia met them at the edge of town and they all proceeded without a word, each shifting to dragon form and flying toward the jungle.  What had taken so long as humans took a barely an hour with the power of a dragon’s wings and as they all circled and sniffed Natsu grew more agitated.

 

“Cool him off, Ice Princess.”  Visha drawled. “He’s getting annoying and it’s hard to listen for Hali with him interfering.”  Jokul nodded and pushed Haydn to land at the overlook while Indra dove into the water to search.  Haydn settled himself and began to focus on his sister, sending his thoughts out to her. The entire brood was connected by bonds, some stronger than others, such as mate to mate, but their bond had grown strong quickly due to their parents.  He growled as he felt nothing, either she was too far away, in trouble, or ignoring him and none of those options made him happy. Jokul nudged under his chin to comfort him, without the ice dragon’s level headed influence he would have probably exploded already.  He leaned into his mate, willing himself to calm, breathing in the scent of snow and ice while Jokul focused on his breathing and heartbeat. It seemed to the fire dragon that he sat there forever just waiting and hoping for a glimpse of his sister before a flash finally bolted through his mind.  He jerked a bit, but stilled himself and tried to focus on it. He could hear her, it was dark and she was angry. Visha landed next to him and he could feel his mind touching his in order to see the vision. She was human, but she was facing a huge beast. It looked more like a moving rock than anything else, but she wasn’t afraid, she was angry and screaming and she, she was crying.  

 

“Hold him!” Visha yelled, but it was too late.  Haydn was in the air with a roar and the other three were left to follow as best they could.  “She’s close, and she’s angry and crying.” Visha told the other two. “Whatever she is yelling at his huge!”  Indra sighed and kept pace with her mate as Jokul chased down his. It wasn’t long before the pairs landed in a dry valley, just outside of a huge cave.  Haydn didn’t wait before he bellowed a challenging roar and began pacing, fire rolling off his scales. In response to his roar an alarmed “eep” was heard and Hali stumbled out less than a minute later looking around frantically.  “Natsu, eh, Haydn!!! What are you doing here?” Her eyes were wide as she noticed the other three as well. “Why are you all here?” Haydn shook himself, flames lessening as he lowered himself down to address her in her human form, “You disappeared!!  No one knew where you were! What was I going to do?” He growled as a movement from the cave caught his eye, “Who is that?”

 

To Indra it seemed that the rocks were rearranging themselves, but she almost immediately shook that thought away and realize it was another dragon.  She looked to her mate and noticed his grin and immediately relaxed. He would never have such a look if anything dangerous were about to happen. The pair stepped back and he whispered to her, “That’s her boyfriend.  He’s shy and she was mad at him for not coming to the guild with her.” She nodded and immediately changed back to her human form, her mate not following her. She smiled at him and kissed his paw, he wouldn’t transform until he was perfectly sure of her safety, she had learned that underneath his poisoned ways he was loyal and protective to a fault.  While Hali and Jokul tried to explain things to a still agitated Haydn, she approached the huge dragon and spoke. “Hello, I’m Juvia, I am Hali’s friend and guildmate.” She smiled at him warmly as he looked down at her warily. “Would you like to meet my mate? I’m sure Hali will have her brother calmed down soon and Juvia would love for you to meet Visha.”  The huge brown dragon looked torn, glancing between the two tiny humans, Juvia smiled at him, “I promise, Haydn is hot headed, but he is Hali’s brother and she and Jokul will have him under control soon.” She hoped she was telling the truth, she glanced back to her mate and he gave a slight nod of his head. 

 

“What’s your name?” Juvia asked, she touched his massive paw.  She thought he could be even larger than Rai and wondered if his human form would be as large as Laxus.  He looked down at her and finally lowered himself down and with a voice that rumbled lower than the iron slayer’s, “My name is Keb.  It’s nice to meet you.” Juvia smiled brightly, “Come and meet Visha, but don’t mind him, he’s….well, he’s ...you’ll see.” The large dragon followed her over to her mate and introduced them, giving the large iridescent purple dragon a warning look.  Surprisingly it worked as Visha spoke to Keb in what was a surprisingly normal tone without any insults to him. When Hali finally had her brother under control and calmed and human again, they joined the group and Hali introduced her brother and his mate.  Natsu looked the man over, whose name was Rorey, he was nearly as big as Laxus and every bit as muscled, long light brown hair flowed down to his waist and clear grey eyes, his voice when human thick with a Boscan accent. Natsu sniffed him over a few times and then stuck out his hand, once they had shook hands he turned back to his sister, “You’ll have to let dad meet him to see what he says, but I guess he’s ok with me.”


	15. Chapter 15

Uriel and Igneel sat upon the beach near Igneel's volcano, Natsu and Hali perched upon their paws, none of them looking happy.  Reports had reached them of attacks on towns and cities near the sea and several large ships had been lost, not one sailor ever found.  It was no secret to the dragons what was happening, the leviathans were hungry and were moving onto to their favorite meal, humans. Igneel had finally come to the conclusion that it would have to be time to act.  All the slayers could transition smoothly, travel between realms and had accepted their mates, if they had one. Only a few were still struggling with controlling themselves when in dragonforce, but that seemed a small thing now that the enemy was moving.

 

Igneel had advised that all mages with water based magic avoid the sea and be extremely cautious around any water, going so far as to keep Uriel from her beloved sea.  Makarov had met with all the sister guilds and the masters of those guilds reported the same problems, no mages harmed but non-mages occasionally disappearing through odd circumstances.  Fairy Tail was on high alert, as every known dragon slayer made their home there. Sabertooth was as well, given that Orga was no longer the only God Slayer and the Sabers housed almost all of the known God slayers.  Gray was the only dual slayer known, being a devil slayer and a dragon slayer, and had been put through his paces on every front. He was an impressive force as he could now combine his devil and dragon abilities. All in all they felt prepared, but no one could relax given they knew what was on the line.

 

Natsu had asked the hardest questions, bringing up the fact that if this didn’t go well normal humans could be destroyed.  Hali knew her brother was worthy of the lineage of the Fire Dragon King as she had listened to his plans to save humanity and Earthland.  No one wanted dragons back more than Natsu, but he would not entertain that humans be harmed. He and his father sat long hours making sure that whatever happened they could protect as many as possible.  Lucy and Bickslow had been hard at work planning with Loke and the Spirit King while Freed and Levy had buried themselves in books looking for ancient knowledge and spells to ensure that all life would survive.  Levy had even found evidence that it could be possible to create another realm, not unlike the Spirit and Soul reams, where the dragons could live once their souls were ready to be separated from their slayers. At the end of the day, the only thing they were unprepared for what the exactly the thing that happened.

 

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The sun was setting after a long day spent talking with her dragon parents and brother and Hali was sure everything would be ok.  They had trained, planned and they loved their world, they wouldn’t let it fall to evil, no matter how ancient it was. She and Natsu had just said goodbye and were walking back to the guild when the unbelievable happened.  The first sign of something wrong was the scream near the fountain in town, the second thing was the very small, but very distinct roar of a dragon. Hali and Natsu found themselves running and pulling up their dragonforce before coming to a halt and taking in the chaos.  The fountain was over running with the black of leviathans, and Juvia had been caught in it. She was on the ground and had to have been where the scream came from before she was rendered unconscious as the leviathans tried to take her over. What was shocking was the pony sized dragon sparking with black lightning, that was standing over her and shocking the leviathans as they tried to take her.  Natsu snapped out of it and shoved Hali away, “Go...into the sky! You can’t be here! Get the others!”

 

She didn’t waste time, jumping and transforming midair before flying for the guild, mentally screaming for her kin as she glanced back to see Natsu light the fountain aflame.  She made it halfway to the guild before an army of dragon slayers met her, all in dragonforce. “They’re attacking at the fountain! Juvia is in trouble!” She barely got the words out before Erik was roaring and Jellal was tackling him, trying to make sure he was clear of people before he transformed.  “Laxus!” Oki yelled, “I need you! There’s a baby dragon and it’s using lightning!” Rai and Ciar were with her in seconds and following behind Visha as the other slayers ran on foot. The site that greeted them was not pretty, the fountain was a destroyed mess, broken and smoking with the remains of the leviathans.  Natsu knelt close to the tiny dragonling and Juvia and was trying to get it to calm down and let him near his nakama, but kept getting shocked. Only a few people had been hurt and Wendy went immediately to them to heal them as the others fanned out looking for more leviathans. Lucy and Bickslow came to where Visha was growling and gnashing his teeth at the tiny dragon now, trying to get to his mate.

 

The tiny thing kept shocking both him and Natsu until Lucy and Laxus grinned and walked forward.  “You keep me from getting lit up Sparky.” She whispered to him as she moved forward, then she spoke to Visha.  “Calm down, we will get her. Just hang on, Vish.” She sent a silent plea to Bickslow to help her out. He focused on the souls around him and gingerly neared the poison dragon, “Dude, she’s alive.  I can see her soul, they didn’t get her.” He soothed, he dropped his usual smartassedness, it was never a good idea to upset the poison dragon. As soon as the seething dragon began to calm, he turned his attention back to his own mate, “Luce, it’s not human.  That’s a real freakin’ dragonling.” His mate smiled, “Thanks, babe. I got this.” She kneeled close to the sparking baby, and smiled at it, “Come on, sweetie, come to mama.” She let out a rumbling purr and without a second's hesitation the little dragon bowled into her, trying to nuzzle into her as it looked for comfort.  

 

Visha wasted no time in grabbing his mate up and flying her to the guild with Wendy following quickly.  Gray grabbed Natsu and followed with several of the others acting as guards for the pair since Natsu was exhausted.  That left the Thunder tribe with Lucy and a tiny, impossible dragonling. As the baby quieted and fell asleep, black lightning snaked across it’s skin.  They all looked at each other, “We’ve got to contact the Sabers…” Freed spoke quietly, “Orga is the only one I know that uses black lightning.”


End file.
